Nudity
Nudity or nakedness is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations (such as a need for warmth or protection from the elements) and social considerations. In some situations the minimum amount of clothing or no clothing at all may be socially acceptable, while in others much more clothing is expected. Some religions practice ritualized nudity in various types of ceremonies, believing nudity to be a state of innocence. Mainstream Smurfs Media In mainstream Smurfs media, depiction of nudity even among Smurf characters is done through showing the characters either in silhouette or covering themselves with objects such as barrels. In rare cases, such as in the comic book story "The Wild Smurf," the male Smurfs are shown from the back with their buttocks exposed. Empath: The Luckiest Smurf stories In Smurf culture In Smurf society in the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series, nudity isn't so much a problem as is whether or not a Smurf is wearing a hat, as they consider the hat part of their cultural identity. However, it is customarily good manners for a male Smurf to at least wear a pair of pants while a female Smurf wears a dress, and that dressing or undressing oneself should be done in privacy apart from members of the opposite sex. Despite this, the Psyche Master rejects the Smurf standard of morality as proper and thus has departed to create his own group of people, the Psyches, who are programmed to see nudity as a behavior of "savage beings". Empath, who was raised as a Psyche, had originally adopted this frame of mind and was fearful of seeing his fellow Smurfs in what Psyches call "half-dress", which also included himself when he first wore Smurf clothes. Over time, Empath began to accept the Smurf standard of morality as proper over the Psychelian standard and became a bit more comfortable wearing just a hat and pants. However, after Papa Smurf had revealed to him his origin of being Papa Smurf's son after his 150th birthday, Empath became embarrassed of himself again and started wearing a shirt along with a hat and pants. Smurfette through the first few years of her living as a real Smurf had gotten used to living among her fellow Smurfs appearing as they do and has even found herself physically attracted to them. This eventually led to her first encounter with Empath upon his final return from Psychelia on his 150th birthday, considering him to be the most handsome Smurf of all and wanting him to be her one true love. While Empath found Smurfette to be equally attractive, he is more desiring to be her friend first before giving his heart completely to her. And while Smurfette herself likes to wear a two-piece swimsuit, she rarely wants to appear naked and is very displeased by Sneaky's attempts to sneak a peek at her without her clothes on. In "Smurfette's Inner Beauty", when her fellow Smurfs requested for her to pose nude for one of the annual Art Festival contests, she actually appeared in underclothes that were altered by Empath to make them the same color as her skin, making the other Smurfs believe that she was posing nude. Wild Smurf, having grown up outside of the Smurf Village, has little concept of the need of clothing with the exception of wearing a bush around his waist, which made Empath's first encounter with him as a Smurfling rather frightening to Empath. It was during Empath's brief stay with Wild at that time when Wild wore his first Smurf hat made of leaves. Years later, when Wild was introduced to his fellow Smurfs as an adult, Tailor made for Wild a loincloth that he could wear since he found Smurf clothes to be so uncomfortable. Nude bathing, or "skinny dipping", is a common behavior among the Smurfs of the series either in the Smurf Village or on Smurfette Island, but in the Smurf Village it is done with a bit of caution, as Sneaky likes to steal his fellow Smurfs' clothes while they are "skinny dipping" and watch them return to the village trying to maintain their dignity while they do so. However, nude bathing is mostly done with members of the same sex, as both the Smurfs and Smurfettes of either village refuse to do so in the company of members of the opposite sex, and such bathing with both genders would only be done in privacy with married couples. In other cultures The standard of nudity in cultures other than the Smurfs varies from one culture to another. With the humans of the time period that their stories are set in, it is considered proper and healthy to be wearing clothes that not only allow the person to be comfortable while not offending anyone, but also befit that person's station in society. Full nudity would only be acceptable within the discretion of a married couple's intimate activities together. Hero: The Guardian Smurf stories In the HERO: The Guardian Smurf story series, Wonder had accidentally caught Hero being naked one time before the two of them were married, and was curious about why males and females cannot see each other naked until Papa Smurf had taught her about the proper standards of appearance and interaction between the sexes. Wonder herself would pose nude for a picture that was created by Painter while wearing the Heart Of The Ocean as a Christmas present for Hero after they got married. Hefty in this series is depicted as being a bit of a pervert at times, as he tries to get a sneak peek at Smurfette or Wonder getting undressed or having a bath or shower. In "Smurfette's Artistry", Smurfette personally requested for Hero to pose nude for a painting that she was creating for herself. LD Stories/Expanded AU Within The Light and Dark Series, which crosses over with the Expanded Animated Universe, nudity (or "bareness") is handled differently between Smurfs and humans. Humans In the 16th Century European setting of the story, males and females are expected to wear a similar amount of clothes in public depending on their social status. Males are not typically acceptable if exposing more than half their arms or above the ankle unless there is reasonable explanation (such as an absurd heat wave or going swimming). Likewise, women are advised to follow the same guidelines with the addition of not showing too much cleavage (mostly set in place to "make them work for the treasure" as some say). Smurfs In the Smurf Village, no one considers it taboo for a male Smurf to have their upper body exposed so long as they have on a pair of trousers, and because of their youthful baldness, they feel estranged without a Smurf hat of some sort. Females have a reversed expectation, being able to show off their legs as long as they cover their upper bodies. They have hair, too, so a Smurf hat is mostly a symbol of being a true Smurf. Smurf Me Up! In the Smurf Me Up! story adaptation of "Titanic", Smurfette in her dream about being on board the Titan poses nude, wearing only the Heart Of The Ocean necklace, so that Glovey could make a drawing of her. 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